Ansari was the funny ally who was also a man of color, and that is why these accusations felt even worse to the general public. No one wanted to believe that he could be guilty of such a thing, and it made women feel as though they could not trust men at all.
Ansari has a funny persona that he crafted by appearing in stand-up specials and on the hit NBC series “Parks & Rec.” He worked hard to be in a place where he could even speak to women’s experiences in the past.
One of his most famous jokes talks about how men always have crazy girlfriend stories. He then notes that women never have crazy boyfriend stories because the crazy boyfriend usually kills them. While this is funny on its face, it is also bitingly true. To hear that Ansari might be guilty of sexual assault makes the joke terrifying because it is almost as if he knows from personal experience.
Of course, no one if accusing Ansari of such a thing, but women who have been scarred by men in the past have a right to read into things that Ansari has said as part of his comedy specials.